1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the arrangement of a one-piece molded part made of glass ceramic, glass or ceramic as a cooking surface of a cooking unit in a cutout of a sill plate, with an encircling outer peripheral area that is elevated from the level of the inner main plane.
2. Background Information
The flush installation of flat cooking surfaces made of glass ceramic in a cutout of a sill plate may be described in some publications.
In other words, a sill plate may be described as a work space that surrounds a cooking surface and that separates the cooking surface from the remainder of a kitchen counter top.
German Patent Publication No. 30 09 961 C2, for example, describes an installation frame that is connected with a cutout of a sill plate, on which a flat glass ceramic cooktop unit lies on the sill plate, flush with the cutout. By using appropriate screws, it is possible to adjust the height of the cooktop unit, so that, for example, the upper side of the cooktop unit and the upper side of the sill plate can be made to form a plane. The continuous height adjustment by means of screws means that the upper side of the cooking surface can be easily adjusted so that it is flush with the upper side of the sill plate without having to pay too close attention to the exact dimensions. The assembly can also be configured so that the cooking surface projects by a certain amount beyond the work surface or is recessed with respect to it.
Because the cooktop unit is flat, the adhesive connections that are provided to create the seal between the sill plate and the cooktop unit are exposed without protection to overflows of the food being cooked. The adhesive connections and the sealing areas, which are particularly sensitive, are also extremely difficult to clean. Some publications may describe the use of dark adhesive or sealing compounds, which are less likely to show the dirt.
Moreover, hot pots and pens can be unintentionally moved out of the actual cooking area onto the part of the cooktop unit where, in some embodiments, there are control and/or display elements, as a result of which said control and/or display elements can be damaged.
With a totally flat construction, it is also possible for the hot pots and pans to be unintentionally moved out of the actual cooking areas onto the work surface, which can damage the cooking surface, or even worse, because of the absence of any resistance provided by an edge, the hot pots and pans, plus their contents, can be unintentionally moved out of the working surface with unforeseeable consequences.
Some publications may also describe one-piece glass ceramic cooking surfaces, the outer peripheral area of which is either elevated or recessed on one side with respect to the main plane. German Patent Publication No. 196 10 073 A1 describes a glass ceramic cooking surface, which has at least one step, whereby the step is realized in the form of a sharp edge, which can be easily damaged by pots and pans or by cleaning devices such as the scrapers that are conventionally used to clean glass ceramic cooking surfaces.
A plate made of a material that is heat-permeable, such as glass ceramic, glass, ceramic or a similar material, and can be used as a surface for cooking, for example, is described in German Patent Publication No. 297 02 586 U1. The one-piece plate thereby forms two parallel planes at different heights.
A cooking and control surface made of a one-piece glass ceramic plate, in which the control surface is elevated and the cooking surface is located opposite it, is described in German Patent Publication No. 42 16 677 A1.
German Patent Publication No. 90 13 064 U1 describes a one-piece cooking area, with a working area made of ceramic material or glass ceramic, whereby the cooking area is provided with an elevated, essentially encircling edge.
A one-piece molded part made of glass, glass ceramic or ceramic as a heated surface is described in German Utility Model German Patent Publication No. 298 11 628.6, whereby the molded part forms at least the surface and one lateral surface that is bent downward.
German Patent Publication No. 43 33 334 A1 describes a plate that is made of glass ceramic as a component of a cooking unit, in which at least one area of the one-piece plate is on a plane that is different from the main plane. FIG. 7 in German Patent Publication No. 43 33 334 A1 shows a one-piece glass ceramic plate with an encircling outer peripheral area that is elevated with respect to the level of the inner main plane of the plate, in which the cooking zones are located. The radius diameters between the main plane and that of the elevated peripheral area claimed are from 4 mm to 100 mm.